Lionel Scaloni, Argentina coach, has promised to bring a wind of change to the team in 2025 after resting on the base of the winners of the last Copa America. But he judges the Lionel Messi case separately.
Lionel Scaloni delivered a rare mea culpa on his choices of players, Monday on the eve of facing Peru during qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. The Argentinian coach admits not having had the opportunity to instill a breath of fresh air within his team by retaining the backbone that won the Copa America last summer. After two defeats and a draw in five games since the start of the school year, he promises that this wind of change will arrive in 2025 by putting pressure on his starters who play little at club level.
“Leo always plays even when he has to rest”
“We need them to play,” he admitted. “These six games were very close after the Copa América. We really chose to continue with the base that gave us the joy of the Copa and we didn't have much time to integrate other players, but from From now on, we need everyone to play. From now on, we will decide everyone's level of football as we have always done, except on this occasion.
The coach was careful to clarify that he was not targeting Lionel Messi, his captain and the team's superstar, whose season with Inter Miami ended a little over a week ago. The eight-time Ballon d'Or will not play again before 2025. “Leo's case is completely different,” Scaloni stressed. “He always plays even when he has to rest, but we don't think beyond that, it's important that they have continuity. Leo's year is that of a player who has played a lot of games , who has been available a lot, with a Copa América in the middle It's difficult for him to be 100% and not to have had problems, it's normal He suffered an injury but in general, he. has always been good to us.”
Scaloni was also embarrassed by the case of Gonzalo Montiel, little used at Sevilla FC but still on the national team. “Gonzalo is a boy who, when you see him training and playing, it's very difficult to leave him aside,” he agrees. “These are very special cases, he is very loved within the group and we want to bring him home because of the way he trains. It's incredible. Beyond the fact that we would like and have “We need him to play more, it's a special case because we like him a lot and every time he's on the pitch he's contributed.”
